Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Where is Prince Bandar?

Was Prince Bandar "Bush," 63, son of Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz (perennial Saudi Defense Minister,1963-2001), semi-perennial ambassador to Washington (1983-2005), and secretive jihad financier, killed by a Syrian intelligence death squad?
Thunderous silence prevails on Syrian, Iranian and Arab media (most of it controlled by the Saudis). The same applies for al-Jazeera. This is DEBKA's somewhat fanciful take.
Dates are crucial. Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud may have pulled off operation "Damascus Volcano" on July 18. He was definitely promoted to head of Saudi intelligence on July 19. And he might have been killed in a bomb attack on the Saudi General Intelligence HQ in Riyadh on July 22.
One Syrian rumor mill version rules that "Damascus Volcano" came from Saudi intel -- with logistics provided by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). This is highly unlikely; the CIA is clueless on how to penetrate Assad's inner sanctum. The predominant version circulating in the Syrian capital is this was a white coup.
"Damascus Volcano," by the way, was a flop; the swarm of mercenaries -- infiltrated via Jordan -- who were supposed to take over the capital had to retreat up north. Now the news cycle is fixated on another faux game-changer -- the "Battle of Aleppo."